Crossing the border with Blue Jays beat reporter Jordan Bastian.

Over and Out

So that’s it. It’s done. Over. Turn the page, put the cat out, or whatever else you wanna say. The Blue Jays 2006 season is complete, and so is my rookie season on a Major League beat. So for those of you aspiring journalists out there, here are a few things I’ve learned in year No. 1:

I know what an ulnar collateral ligament is, where it’s located, what it’s for, and I can type it with my eyes closed. Thank you A.J. Burnett and Gustavo Chacin.

Shower shoes are a must. This we learned from Alex Rios and Ty Taubenheim, who each suffered a staph infection. Toronto’s clubhouse wasn’t actually the source, but the team disinfected it anyway.

You should always congratulate someone on adopting a baby. Otherwise, it could lead to an angry outburst. Advice courtesy of Shea Hillenbrand (not to say that was the only issue involved with that incident).

Chewing tobacco can sometimes look like blood. We learned this from John Gibbons and Ted Lilly, who got into a shoving match in August. There were reports that Gibbons received a bloody nose, but it was probably just some of his chew.

Throwing up in the pressbox bathroom in the Rogers Centre is NOT a good way to end a season. I found this out during Toronto’s last home game, and wound up at home in bed, sleeping off the flu before having to catch a 6 a.m. flight to Detroit.

The tunnel between the visitor’s clubhouse and the dugout at Fenway Park is one of the scariest places on Earth. There are puddles in there that have existed since the 1920s.

Bars in The Big Apple are open until 4 a.m. I learned this while visiting my old college roommate during the first trip to New York. It’s all well and good, that is until you’re out eating a slice of pizza at 4:30 in the morning and you have to cover a day game in a few hours.

If you want to go see the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, arrange for a cab to pick you up ahead of time. I waited by that stupid red bridge for over an hour before I could get the cab company to send a guy to pick me up. I got to Oakland just in time to do my pregame work

When a homeless person in Atlanta offers to walk you to your hotel, say no. When he offers to protect you "from the other bums," say no with more emphasis. When he says he got beat up by other homeless people and wound up in a hospital, and has the hospital bracelet and a bottle of pills he in his hand as proof, start thinking about running. When he asks you for some money, tell him you only have Canadian cash. That’s when he’ll leave you alone. Atlanta homeless guys can’t use loonies.

There are PF Chang’s Chinese restaurants in Denver, Tampa, Seattle, Boston, and Kansas City. And they are all just as spectacular in each city.

Finally, I learned that it IS possible to wake up in Florida, grab lunch in Canada, and meet up with friends in Grand Rapids, Mich., all in the same day. That’s the life of a sportswriter who is asked to stand up in a wedding a day after covering a Blue Jays-Devil Rays game.

There are plenty more little tidbits I’m sure I could write, and many which I probably don’t remember at the moment, but might share some time later. For now, that’s all I’ve got.

Toronto finishes in second place, winds up with the most wins in a season since 1998, and heads into the offseason with playoff aspirations for 2007. If you thought expectations were high coming into this year, wait till next season. Tomorrow is the annual conference call with Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi. I’ll be blogging more on here tomorrow.

GOOD IMAGE OF THE WEEK:

There was talk about a minor celebration that took place inside the visitor’s clubhouse at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night. The word is that Troy Glaus sat and watched the end of the Orioles-Red Sox game, and when Boston lost, he and some of Toronto’s trainers popped open a bottle of champagne to honor the Jays’ second-place finish. If that doesn’t show that placing second did mean something to Toronto’s players, I don’t know what else would.

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2 Comments

Sure second place meant something. These guys are competitors, and I’ve heard they get money and whatever,but when it comes down to it they just want to win. The pride associated with beating the Red Sox is something they can take away from this year.
The strong finish can only mean good things for this team. Espcially going into the offseason when they try to recruit free agents. They may take J.P. a little more seriously when he tells them this team is moving in the right direction. A man named Vernon Wells may give it a little longer thought when asked if he wants to stick around. There were many positives this year, and I really like where this team is going.

I agree. The Jays are moving in the right direction. It’ll be nice to see what pieces JP picks up in the offseason. Tho I believe this team can compete with the talent they have. Tho some extra talent sure won’t hurt anything.

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